Time Waits
by loraney
Summary: Naruto never fussed about the injustice of his cursed birth, until the worst happens.  Now he is on a quest for revenge from the source of his pain; his father.  Time traveling ninja!
1. Chapter 1

Naruto stood in the designated clump of trees, the misting rain accumulating in blond clumps creating a layer of goosebumps as drops swelled, dripped and slid down his neck into this shirt.

His whole body shook as the unknown hammered at him. After four years, Sasuke had sent word asking Naruto to meet him here, twenty miles from Konoha's gates, giving no further explanation.

What did it mean? Did Sasuke want to finish the job he started at the Valley of the End? Did he want to tell Naruto to quit trying to retrieve him once and for all? Did he…Naruto's head swam…want to come home?

No! Naruto quashed that thought. Hope was too painful. He'd rid his life of that particular coping mechanism long ago, focusing on training, preparing for the day his destiny as humanity's sacrifice, a parting gift from his fucking father, finally arrived.

So he steeled himself. It didn't matter what Sasuke wanted, he repeated to himself. No matter what it was, it revolved around this thing others called 'living.' Naruto had no time for, nor interest in, that deceitful concept.

Hunched over under a branch, the chill of his skin matching his outlook, he thought for several seconds about his particular life. Demon vessel, orphan, abused villain, scorned idiot. He had no friends and no lovers. He'd decided long ago that life actually sucked and most days wanted nothing more than for his to be over.

Sighing, he stomped his feet to warm them. He almost believed all that stuff. Truth was Naruto was terrified of living. He'd isolated himself, deciding that bonds were the source of all pain. Sure, some had tried to get close to him, but he'd shown them the door. What was the point in starting something that was doomed from the start?

But there was a rather conspicuous chink in this armor that Naruto had donned and it had a name; Uchiha Sasuke. Best friend, lonely orphan, worthy rival…senbon-riddled shield. This chink was the thing he meditated on more than anything else. He knew that if he could put this weakness in the appropriate box, the absolute numbness he craved would soon follow. It was his last tie to life, to hope, and it irritated the shit out of him that he couldn't get rid of it.

He rubbed at the pain in his chest that always appeared when he thought of Sasuke. Just then, a dark figure dropped out of the trees above.

"Naruto."

"Sasuke," Naruto barely had enough spit in his mouth to respond.

"Akatsuki is coming for you and is not far behind, so I'll get straight to the point," Sasuke said coming to stand directly in front of Naruto. "Itachi is dead."

"I'm so sorry…"

Sasuke interrupted Naruto by raising his hand. "I have missed you and want to come home."

Naruto slumped against the tree as blood pounded in his brain. This was his dearest hope and his most clawing fear wrapped in one sentence.

Sasuke bowed his head and continued, "My journey involving Itachi is not finished, but I can continue down that path from Konoha. In any event, it has taken a lower priority than returning to my home and repairing the bonds that have suffered due to my prior actions."

Naruto's heart was pounding so hard that he could hear it.

"It has taken a lower priority," Sasuke continued, "than protecting you."

Naruto couldn't respond as Sasuke just watched him.

"I don't know what the next minutes will bring," Sasuke finally spoke again. "Therefore it's important to me to get to the point and say my piece, lest I never get the chance to say it again."

With that he moved the rest of the way into Naruto's space, shoved his hands into the blond hair and pressed their lips together. Naruto's brain had already been derailed and when he felt Sasuke wrap his arm around his back, the rest of the world just fell away. He moaned and tears streamed down his face.

Sasuke showed Naruto his very first kiss. For several long moments, Naruto learned the actual mechanics and the brain melting pleasure that came from the slide of two tongues, the scrape of teeth on a sensitive lip, the passionate tangle of fingers in his hair.

"Naruto," Sasuke whispered and pulled back enough to look into his eyes. "I…Fuck!"

Sasuke whipped around and Naruto became aware of the approaching malevolent signature that comprised Akatsuki. He choked on a hysterical laugh. Destiny was one mean mother fucker. Did this moment have to arrive now? Seriously?

"We can't let them have Kyuubi or you" Sasuke said, pulling two swords off his back. Flames spread up his neck and face and the beginnings of wings poked out of slots in a shirt seemed designed for that very purpose. "Return to Konoha and I'll meet up with you soon."

Naruto's mouth fell open. "No fucking way, bastard." He filled his own hands with weapons. "This is my work to do. This is my purpose. You get out of here and I'll send word to you once it's over."

"No," Sasuke didn't mince words. He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I yearn for a new purpose, something beyond avenger." He tilted his head. "Something that will give me peace."

"Can you even beat Akatsuki by yourself?" Naruto threw his arms wide in a hysterical gesture.

Sasuke sighed. "I don't know, but we can't make it to the gates before they arrive. I see few options, but I do know the priorities here are you and the demon."

"Well, I _can_ beat them, so you…" he gasped as his seal exploded in pain.

"I was afraid of this," Sasuke said. "They are holding that hermit from Rock hostage, forcing him to devise a portable device for extracting demons."

Akatsuki was close enough now that Naruto could smell them. This was going to be difficult. He thought he could still beat the enemy band before they yanked the demon from him, but pain was clouding his concentration.

He and Sasuke studied each other for several moments, each becoming aware that the other was not leaving.

Finally, when Akatsuki was close enough that they could see swatches of red and white through the trees, the brunet came up to Naruto and cupped his cheek.

"Peace and happiness." He kissed Naruto once more and then he turned and ran toward the enemy, his wings extending fully.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as he watched Sasuke fly over Akatsuki and dive into the middle of the group. A fraction of a second later, Naruto, his thoughts hazy with pain, threw himself into the fray as well.

Later, when a Leaf contingent, including Tsunade and Yamato, arrived, Akatsuki was little more than shredded unrecognizable clumps. Naruto, claws and teeth dripping with blood and bits flesh, was squeezing Sasuke to his chest and sniffing the newcomers. Six tails whipped sharply back and forth behind him and he growled and howled at them, no sign of Naruto's humanity anywhere to be found.

"Naruto?" Tsunade approached warily, her chakra reaching out and finding only one living ninja. Sasuke was dead.

He swiped at her with his free arm, and she just missed being shredded by claws forged in the earth's hottest fires. She looked meaningfully at Yamato.

Minutes later, Naruto's sense of self returned just as he fell over, his consciousness stolen by the arches over his body.

* * *

I learned my lesson with Constellations. If I want anyone to actually read this story, an author's note is needed, so… A/N: Is Sasuke really dead? Well, it's a time-travel story so, like daytime soap operas, anything is possible, ne?


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

* * *

"Naruto." His eyes closed, Naruto heard his name from far away.

"Naruto?" He tried to open his eyes, recognizing Sakura's voice. Sighing he moved to rub his face, only to find that he couldn't reach it; his arms were shackled.

"Hey," he managed through the cotton ball that was his tongue. Finally he opened his eyes, which caused a stabbing pain in his head. _Kyuubi_. Naruto recognized a post-Kyuubi hangover when he felt one.

"What happened?" he rasped, the events leading up to this moment a temporary blank.

"Oh, Naruto," Sakura wobbled. "Sasuke…" Then she burst into tears.

It all crashed back around him and he gasped. Her look gentled and she put her hand on his cheek. "It's so…I'm so sorry…for you."

"Sakura," he whispered. "It didn't really happen, did it?"

She was silent for several moments, fresh tears washing down her already blotchy face. Finally she closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. "The service was two days ago." Naruto's heart lurched painfully. "He's a hero," she continued. "There's a monument…" She couldn't seem to continue, but he couldn't hear anymore anyway.

It was true. It had happened. And he'd missed his best friend's funeral strapped to a bed in a…he looked around…chakra blocking chamber in Konoha prison. A strange tickling in his mind pressed for dominance. Sanity suddenly felt like smoke in a basket, a hair's breadth from bleeding away.

"Get out."

"Naruto!" Sakura sobbed. "No. We need each other. Help me. Let me help you."

"Get out." His voice was dead and it matched his soul completely. She left in a fit of tears and he was finally alone with nothing to disturb his thoughts but the flies flitting at the ceiling tiles above his head.

"Okay," he thought, absently noting his own dispassion. Where did this new development leave him? Life had been a necessary evil before this. His father had seen to that.

His thoughts strayed to all the images he'd seen of the man; in Kakashi's living room, academy textbooks, the hallways of Hokage tower, Hokage Mountain. Namikazi Minato certainly seemed to be one happy son of a bitch, every image depicting a row of sparkling white teeth under those perpetually twinkling eyes. Guess he'd had no one to actively fuck up his charmed life.

Naruto hadn't fussed about it too much before now. Life sucked. You win some, you lose some. Some folks just had better lives than others. Too bad, so sad.

At least he'd had a purpose; keeping the world safe from Akatsuki's efforts concerning the demon. And there had been a second purpose, a purpose for his heart; saving Uchiha Sasuke. He'd come to suspect over the years, that this particular purpose, more so than his role as demon vessel, was going to be the nail in his coffin. Sasuke obviously hadn't wanted or needed to be saved by Naruto.

Now, with the startling clarity of hindsight, Naruto understood that Sasuke had needed to save himself, which he evidently had done. One useless, delusional purpose shattered.

As for the other, Akatsuki was now gone. So what did he have left? Not a fucking thing.

His mind once again filled with an image of the perpetually happy bastard who was his father. From his perspective, the fucker _never_ stopped smiling and the contrast between that assholes's glittering bliss and the blackness in his own soul enraged him. He pictured the blond shuffling up to his new son, shrugging and saying, "Sorry son, nothing personal," then stuffing the demon in him, blithely turning him into Konoha's number one villain and leaving him on this earth alone, no mother, no father and no hope of happiness.

His jaw clenched, rage stiffening his muscles until the bindings holding his arms snapped. Even though he was now free, he lie there a while longer, letting black anger fill him, letting these destructive emotions destroy other feelings and memories vying for attention.

Eventually his limbs relaxed as memories of two boys, two bonded orphans, were buried, submerged in a viscous pit of dark thoughts, thoughts that seemed to be the seed of a new, final purpose.

What exactly did he want to do? He wasn't sure, but that picture in his head, the one of his jovial father was at the center of it.

Finally he sat up and undid the fastenings on his ankles. He found his shoes at the end of the bed and donned them calmly. Then he looked around and nodded; poofing directly out would be the most expedient. He didn't want to wander the halls and be forced into a confrontation.

His smile was ugly as he considered he was in a chakra limiting chamber. Pfft. Who did they think he was? They might as well have locked him in a paper bag. Two seconds later he was standing at the gates of the cemetery. Dragging the numbness to the forefront of his brain, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and shuffled in.

The new construction and recent disturbance in the earth were not hard to find.

"Nice," Naruto nodded as he studied the gleaming marble monument.

"Last Uchiha, pride of Leaf, now held in the arms of his esteemed ancestors," it read. "Uchiha Sasuke, hero, willingly embracing death to save humanity. Your friends love you and you will be missed until we meet again in the unknown beyond."

"Fucking idiot. It was none of your business. I could have beaten them without your help. What the fuck was your point in that shit you pulled?"

An image floated through his mind. Sasuke pressing their lips together. The wind rustled through the stiff leaves of the newly planted foliage and Naruto heard two syllables…

"…love you…"

Rage welled in Naruto and the next thing he realized, marble dust floated through the air and the monument was in a million pieces. Shaking and struggling to find that dead place that was always just out of reach, he turned, stalked out of the cemetery and didn't stop walking until Konoha was many miles behind him.

He walked and walked, trying to empty his mind of thought, his soul of emotion, his life of meaning. Since all the goals that had sustained him were gone now, one would think that would be easy. But humans didn't work like that. Hard as he tried, a couple of things nagged at him.

He wanted answers. Why him? Why had his father hated him?

And he wanted revenge. Revenge for all the pain in his life. Revenge for Sasuke.

As his mind sorted and processed against his will, frustration filled him. Once again, his wants and needs would go unfulfilled, because both the answers and the revenge could only be obtained from one source, his father. His dead, fucking father.

As he walked though, something else tugged at his mind, something old, nearly forgotten…until now. He stopped in his tracks and gasped. He remembered. Information that had been useless rushed back into his mind and instead of useless, was now absolutely vital.

Purpose swept through him once again. It was likely his last purpose, but that was enough. Good, in fact. Steel filled him and he nodded.

Time to go see the toads.

Naruto placed his forehead on the bamboo dojo floor in a gesture that was pretext only; he was long passed emotions like respect. These toads were a means to an end and he had no problem bowing and scraping in order to get what he came here for.

"We know why you are here, Uzumaki-san."

"Don't try to talk me out of this," he growled, sitting up.

"No, we are not going to try to stop you."

Naruto looked at them skeptically, having expected to wage a protracted campaign to get what he wanted.

"Our role in your life has always been that of teacher. You have learned much, but we see that you have yet to learn the most important things in life. There are truths that have been denied you and you have our full support as you seek them out."

"Well then…" Naruto slumped at the anti-climax. "Okay." He scratched his head. "So what do I need to do?"

"We will teach you this forbidden jutsu and ask that you not pass it along to anyone else." That was easy enough. Naruto didn't expect he'd be around long enough to share the information.

"We will write out the process and explain the components of the jutsu. You will need to memorize it in order to return. When you have accomplished that, you will need to fast and meditate for three days to open all of your gates. Then you will be free to go."

A frizzle of anxiety filled Naruto. This had been easy and it made him uncomfortable; nothing in his life had been easy. He suspected a setup. Then he shrugged. So what if it was a setup? What was the worst that could happen? His death? Che. As if he cared about that. So he nodded in agreement and the toads went to work.

Because Naruto was going back in time to see his father.

"All those hand signs?" Naruto gaped at the dojo floor. It had enough unrolled scrolls to cover it entirely and those scrolls looked to have hundreds of symbols.

"Stop and think about what you are trying to accomplish, boy. You are going to manipulate time and chakra and the very foundations of matter and energy. While you will be in a different place and time, your body will also still be here, meditating in the temple.

"Also, you cannot take Kyuubi back with you. He is housed in another jinchuuriki. It would be dire if a second Kyuubi appeared. The fox is skilled and cunning enough to use that opportunity to give himself an ally and possibly become unstoppable. So we must assign a portion of the cosmos to guard the seal while your will goes back in time with your consciousness."

It took three full weeks for Naruto to memorize and understand the jutsu. And the toads needed to break the jutsu down into various components, the most important of which was the time component. By thoroughly understanding how that portion worked, Naruto could tweak how far back he went and how far forward to dial in when he was ready to come back.

"Do I have to be careful not to change the past so I don't mess up the present?" He asked the toads.

"You've heard the phrase, 'you can't change the past?'"

Naruto nodded.

"Actually, that's not completely true. The past has already happened and as such is fairly stable. It resides in every rock and shrub, in every living creature so is protected from too much tampering. But it can be done.

"The question one faces is whether it _should_ be done. Aside from the amount of effort it would take, one must also consider the future. The future is completely unwritten, thus the potential, the possibilities are unlimited." The toads lost Naruto at this point. He didn't give a flying fuck about the future.

But he listened to the instructions carefully anyway. At the end of three weeks, he had the jutsu memorized and went to the temple to begin the purification ritual. After three days the toads joined him.

"You are ready Uzumaki-san."

"More than you know." He scratched his head, unable to stop his innate curiosity. "How will time pass here? And what if…what if something happens to my past self?"

"Time will pass normally for us and for your body. The length of time depends on your manipulation of the time component. You could conceivably leave, spend years in the past and because you chose it, return here after the passage of only moments, or indeed, before you even left.

"As for your second question, you are a pioneer here. This is a forbidden jutsu, and as such, is largely unexplored. Should your birth never occur, it is impossible to say what the ramifications would be. You have touched more lives than you know, some for good, some for ill. Of course that would all change. The question is how." Naruto didn't really believe that.

He had studied the time component and had questioned the toads about how far back he should go to ensure he met his father before he was born. They settled on a day eighteen years in the past and Naruto began the hand signs.

About three fourths the way through, Naruto felt odd. His surroundings shifted and morphed and it became difficult to concentrate on the signs. But he closed his eyes and persevered. Pressure built in and around him. He felt his skin squeezed between internal and external pressure and then the external pressure doubled and he felt his lungs compress and his eyeballs bulge.

Just as he completed the last sign, his consciousness faded and he fell over.

Naruto woke slowly and moved even more slowly. Every inch of his body hurt. After several minutes of testing his muscles, he opened his eyes.

Shit! It didn't work. He was still sitting in the temple, the toads sitting in a line at the foot of the platform.

"Did I do it wrong?"

"No, it was perfect."

"But…" He looked around. Nothing had changed.

"This temple has remained unchanged for 400 years. Do not judge based on the tapestries before you."

Naruto sat up in a rush, his mouth and eyes wide. "So…"

"You have arrived one year before your birth. At this precise moment, you father is training with Jiraiya-sensei, learning some truths of his own.

"We understand your initial purpose here, but would like to recommend that you spend some time. You have a singular opportunity that only one or two in the history of humanity has had."

Naruto shrugged. "I came here for answers, too."

"We suggest a henge to alter your appearance." They handed him a photo of his father and a young brown haired man. "This young man is a trusted associate of your father. We can assist in giving him a comfortable stasis while you assume his life for a time."

"Okay, just tell me what to do." Naruto felt a bit betrayed by the tiny bubbles of excitement bursting in his chest. He wanted numbness, not anticipation.

"We will take care of the boy. Just go to Jiraiya's dojo and let your instincts be your guide." Naruto henged into the mousy brown haired youth and turned to begin the trip back to Konoha. Before he got out of the temple, the toads stopped him.

"Before you leave, we would like to warn you about changing pasts that don't belong to you. Also, you must know that there are some pasts that can't be changed. You might be able to change some details of an outcome, but the final outcome remains unchanged."

"Huh?" Naruto scratched his head.

"For example, consider the runt of a litter of fox kits. There are many forces working toward its death; the harsh nature of its mother withholding a teat, its own physical weakness, predators looking for the easiest prey. You might step in and eliminate one, say, bottle feed the kit, but in the end, the poor health and the predators are still lying in wait ready to deliver the predetermined fate."

Naruto still just stared at the toads.

"You will be tempted to stop certain events but if you don't understand what truly caused them, if you don't get at the absolute root of those events, you won't change them."

Naruto just shrugged and said, "Ok."

"Just promise us that you will stop and try to remember this before you attempt to change someone's past besides your own."

Naruto blinked. Someone's past besides his own? He hadn't stopped to think that there might be younger versions of other villagers here. He didn't care about that though. He'd have nothing to say to a teenage Kakashi or Iruka.

"Sure. No problem." He shrugged. After all, he was here to see his father.


	3. Chapter 3

Konoha had changed little in eighteen years. Naruto had no trouble finding the building where Jiraiya trained Namikaze Minato.

When he got there, he indeed found both men. Naruto couldn't help a lurch in his chest when he spied Jiraiya kneeling before his student. Damn, he missed the old man. A burning started behind his eyes and anger swept through him. One more disaster in his life. The closest thing he had to a father and he too had been stolen from Naruto, again, a thread that led directly back to his father.

Ruthlessly burying those emotions, he settled in a corner to await the end of the lesson.

When he looked up again, Jiraiya was staring at him. If Naruto wasn't mistaken, the old toad master had his eyebrows quirked in surprise. But Jiraiya could not know him.  
Besides the henge, Naruto hadn't even been born yet.

"Minato-san," Jiraiya started, still eying Naruto.

"Hai, Sensei." When the student bowed his head, Naruto got his first glimpse of his father. His heart hammered and breath wedged in his chest. His father; the man who sired him, the man who died to save humanity. The man who ruined his life.

"For today's lesson," Jiraiya said, "I'd like to talk about destiny; particularly, your destiny."

Minato dropped his head and sighed. Naruto had yet to see the famous grin.

"I already know. I'm Hokage. It's my destiny to sacrifice my life saving the world."

"Hmm." Jiraiya glanced back and forth between Naruto and Minato and Naruto had the irrational sense he was talking to both of them. "Not that. I'm talking about the Child of Prophecy. Have you ever heard of that?"

Minato scratched his head. "Yes, sensei, but I didn't think I was the Child of Prophecy."

"Correct. You are not."

Minato just nodded with no enthusiasm.

"The Child of Prophecy is your son."

Naruto's eyes widened and he looked at Jiraiya with suspicion. The toad sage couldn't possibly know…

Minato barked a laugh. "My son? Sensei, you promised you wouldn't drink before my lessons."

Jiraiya's mouth dropped open and his arms flapped at his sides. "I have not been drinking."

"Well, there are so many things wrong with that theory, I don't even know where to start," Minato snapped, then looked contrite and added in a more respectful tone, "Sensei."

"Minato-san," Jiraiya said gently. "There are so many who care for you. Your life could be so different… I know life has been hard, but you really should open up to..."

Minato jumped to his feet. "And start a family? Are you crazy?" He paced around in a small circle. "I can hold my remaining days in my pocket and you suggest that I not only start some relationship, but also produce Konoha's next orphan?"

"That redhead from Whirlpool seems to have an eye for you." Jiraiya scratched his chin looking thoughtful.

Minato's arms fell limp at his side and he stared at Jiraiya with his mouth hanging open. "Did you hear a word I just said?"

"Yep, I'm sure of it. I've seen her looking at you when your back was turned."

Minato's eyes narrowed. "You're a crazy old man. Life is for suckers and people born under more favorable constellations than me."

Then he turned on his heel and stalked to the door where Naruto was watching avidly.

"Let's go Taisuke." Then he shoved out the door leaving Naruto to follow.

Naruto followed several steps behind thinking that this glaring, furious person looked little like all the photos he'd seen of his father. The only glimpse he'd gotten of those famous pearly-whites, they were in a viscous looking snarl.

Just then they reached the end of the alley where Jiraiya ran his dojo and Minato stopped. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. After a couple of moments, he straightened his flak jacket, smoothed his hair and then, after plastering a ridiculously happy looking smile on his face, stepped out into the sunlight.

The person in front of Naruto now was so drastically different from the one of ten seconds ago that Naruto felt disoriented. This grinning idiot waved cheerily to passers-by, ruffled the tops of children's heads, chatted and joked with shop keepers and looked like what Naruto had been expecting all along.

Then as they turned down another busy avenue, Naruto's whole world shifted under his feet. Kyuubi! He hadn't really noticed Kyuubi's absence until he felt the presence outside this body. He felt a moment of panic that the demon was loose, but then tried to remember what the toads had told him about Kyuubi in the past. He was in another host. Naruto looked around frantically. His eyes landed on a beautiful red haired women standing nearby, who in turn, was gazing at Minato, her expression one of longing.

Minato noticed her as well. Naruto felt his father's mood shift once again, that glittering smile flickering for a second. At first, Naruto thought Minato was going to just walk passed her, but then he shoved his hands in his pockets and strolled over to her.

"Kushina-san," he bowed. "How are you today? That demon behaving?"

She bowed in return, smiling. "I am well, Mina…Hokage-sama. You?"

"Fine." He scratched the back of his head and repeated, "Fine." Then followed the mother of all awkward meetings, punctuated by stiff observations on the weather peppered with more observations on the weather.

Finally a group of children crashed into their legs and Minato used the distraction to make his excuses and continue down the street.

Minato's expression remained cheerful and bright, but Naruto wondered how no one could see the pure artifice of his father's demeanor. The man was miserable. Naruto wondered if he messed up history somehow and created this chameleon.

More than a little confused, Naruto opted to say nothing to this man for now.

For the next weeks, Naruto continued to hold his tongue, opting to observe in secret for now. In that regard, the toads had chosen his disguise well. As Minato's assistant, evidently a valued, fondly regarded assistant, the two were nearly inseparable, only splitting up for sleep.

He learned that the Hokage job was life and soul consuming. The work and demands of Konoha's residents and ninja were never ending and the two men usually opted for working breakfasts, lunches and dinners.

In private, with only his trusted assistant nearby, Minato was grouchy, irritable and perpetually angry. But as soon as someone else came near, that smile, the one Naruto had come to dread, would appear.

Naruto noticed that Minato's mood would sour further whenever they crossed paths with the demon vessel, Kushina. He thought Jiraiya was right and she did have a thing for Minato, but frankly so did every female in the village.

In that way, he reminded Naruto of Sasuke. Females swooned and fawned but none seemed to see the real man. They only saw handsome features and social status in their self absorbed infatuations.

Naruto started to feel sorry for Minato. Which annoyed the shit out of him. Righteous rage had brought him here. Visions of some selfish, oblivious, charmed charmer sent him on a quest for revenge. Now that he was here and experiencing something completely different, he didn't know what to do with himself.

One day, he was sitting on a rock in the training grounds, wading through Hokage paperwork while Minato trained alone. Then he and Minato seemed to pick up on Kyuubi's presence at the same time. He looked around and found Kushina leaning on a tree grinning at Minato.

Minato wiped some sweat off his face and studied her a moment. Naruto had become adept at looking underneath his surface and watched as his father became flustered. The blond Hokage bowed jerkily in her direction.

"Kushina-san."

"Hokage-sama. Training alone?"

He shrugged and she grinned wider. "Can't find anyone to train with you? Everyone afraid of hurting you?"

His mouth fell open. Then he barked a startled laugh.

"Yeah," he grinned back. "Word got out that I was as dainty as crickets' knees and I've been training alone ever since."

She nodded. "Well, I'm a puny girl. Maybe you can hold your own with me."

Minato stared for several moments and Naruto could feel his indecision, yearnings warring with his practical side. Finally, he seemed to decide, fuck it, and Naruto saw the first real smile he'd seen on his father's face. It was beautiful.

"Okay," Minato said. "Try not to hurt me."

She laughed, a sparkling noise, and the fight was on.

It was utterly amazing. Of course, Minato was legendary, but this Kushina was astounding. Watching the pair, who had succumbed to the exhilaration and were taunting and laughing, was incredible.

The two started out with some basic tai-jutsu and then, grinning in mutual acknowledgment that one could not best the other, they moved to standard, academy approved nin-jutsu. Still they were evenly matched. Naruto was marveling that these were two of the best ninja he'd ever seen when they upped the ante even further.

His mouth hung open as he was introduced to techniques that he, even with his travels and sage training, had never seen before. The power that rolled over him from these two was more than exhilarating. It reached deep and touched places inside of him. Somehow he recognized these things that he'd never seen before. They were a part of him, as yet undiscovered and untapped.

He felt a connection, a thread that joined the three of them, and suddenly his perspective shifted. His parents! This was his father _and_ his mother. He knew it without having been told.

He was bonded to these two by his very chromosomes. And they loved each other; even a blind person could see that. Grief filled him. They were so young, so vital. Between them they had enough power to all but shift constellations and yet they were gone, succumbed to the whims of fate and destiny. It was such a waste.

That evening, working late in the Hokage's chambers, both males were out of sorts. Minato was quiet and seemed defeated. Naruto was confused. He'd not found anything he'd expected to find since arriving in the past. Finally, he couldn't hold his tongue.

"You aren't a happy person," he blurted the thought uppermost in his mind.

Minato raised a brow and leaned back in his chair. "Excuse me?"

Naruto decided, screw it. He'd come here for answers, after all. "It's just," he walked to the painting on the wall of the smiling Hokage. "Shouldn't you be happy?"

"Why?"

"Well," Naruto scratched the brown hair at his nape. "You're Hokage. And everyone loves you." Naruto articulated the two dreams that made up his own childhood.

"Everyone loves me?"

"Uhm." Then Naruto realized that wasn't true, because from what he'd seen, no one actually knew this man. "Okay, but they respect you."

"Canon fodder." Minato leaned forward on his elbows. He stood and walked to the window, looking out at Hokage Mountain, at the faces of the dead. "Canon fodder," he repeated in a whisper.

He turned back to Naruto. "Don't get me wrong. I have an opportunity that most people don't get." Naruto moved to look out the window beside him.

"Thanks to my fucking father," Naruto's head shot up. "I'm the best ninja in the village, so I have a purpose. An important purpose." Then his voice filled with sarcasm. "I'm sure children will be taught my name for generations.

"But," he continued, more subdued, "between you and me, I'd trade places with you in a minute."

"Me?"

"Nothing personal, but you have the chakra of a dandelion. Because of that, you get a life."

Naruto didn't know what to say.

"I'd rather be able to have the love of one woman and a couple of children than everyone else in this whole village."

"But what about Kushina?" Naruto blurted.

Minato's shoulders slumped. "What about her?"

"She, uh, she loves you." Naruto blushed.

Minato pointed toward the mountain. "Canon fodder." He turned back to Naruto. "What would you do?"

Naruto was surprised at the response that sprang to his lips. "I'm surprised you give up so easily. I never would have thought you were a quitter." He continued even though Minato looked affronted, "You can't predict the future. Can you promise that she won't die tomorrow or next week?"

Naruto looked out the window and continued to wonder where his words of encouragement were coming from as he added, "She's a demon vessel. I imagine her odds of a long life are less than yours. What if you could make the time she has…better? Maybe make a dream of hers come true?"

Minato's mouth opened and then closed, a look of surprise on his face.

Naruto wondered if his words hadn't had some impact on his father. He was different around Kushina, even more nervous and flustered. His longings were now nearly tangible.

She must have noticed the difference as well. They were bumping into her more often and she showed up at the training grounds nearly every time they were there. And her sparring was different. If Naruto had to describe it, he would say she was seducing him. And Minato was weakening. One day, Naruto let his instincts be his guide and he left the two to spar in private.

That night, Minato didn't return to his quarters. He was a different man from that day forward.

Their routine changed. Minato spent less and less time at the tower and Naruto was getting pretty adept at the more mundane Hokage duties. He spent a fair portion of his days sitting at Kushina's kitchen table getting signatures and relaying news and instructions.

Minato still handled the work that needed to be done, but he did most of it from Kushina's cozy little home, all the while never taking his eyes off her as she moved around her home, cooking and cleaning.

For better or worse, Naruto was getting to know his mother now also. Now that she and Minato had crossed into the realm of lovers, Kushina opened the flood gates of her bottomless pool of love. She showered Minato with it, with looks, words, and touches.

And Naruto was also the recipient of her boundless affection. Touching was a big part of Kushina's relationships and now that Naruto was a part of her life, she hugged him, caressed his cheek, smoothed his hair and turned Naruto into a needy puppy. While he'd shied from the touch of others his whole life, he found himself powerless in the face of her warmth.

He was having daydreams of what it would have been like to be her child. He pictured himself curling up on her lap, falling asleep in her arms, her heartbeat at his ear. He imagined learning life's happier aspects in gentle lessons. He envisioned her standing staunchly in front of him, sheltering and protecting him from life's harsher side. It all tapped into a well that Naruto hadn't felt in himself before. He found himself longing for both ends of a parental relationship, both giving and receiving love and protection.

As Minato opened himself to Kushina, he was starting to experience other deeper relationships. There were people in the village who truly cared for him. While it was a much smaller group of people than the general sycophantic population of Konoha, the relationships had more meaning. One of the deeper relationships Minato developed was with Naruto himself, as the assistant, of course. Minato started talking to him more and more, and Naruto encouraged him to open up. He learned a lot about his father. He learned that he really had no idea what the man's life had been like. Turned out that it was eerily similar to his own life.

Minato had his share of loss and grief and while he'd had lots of attention his whole life, not all of it was good, much of it colored with jealousy and avarice. The village at large only cared about his value as a ninja, and females, with the exception of Kushina, only saw good looks, wealth and status. He trusted no one and because of that, he had no close relationships. Again, Naruto thought of Sasuke.

Now, as the days passed, and Minato and Kushina grew ever closer, Naruto was starting to get a glimpse of the happy Hokage of legend. It confused him even more. He didn't want his father to be happy. Did he? And what of his…plan? If he could keep the two apart, he could prevent his birth and his own pathetic life. Right? Naruto just wasn't sure anymore. As he watched the two, a demon vessel and a doomed hero, he couldn't stop the part of himself that rooted for their happiness.

One day, Naruto came to work and found Minato staring out the window. He looked as though he'd been crying. Naruto touched his arm.

"What's wrong?" Emotions flew across Minato's face. Finally he dropped his face in his hands and his shoulders started to shake. Naruto led him to the couch and patted his shoulder awkwardly.

Finally Minato raised his head and Naruto saw hell in his eyes. "She's pregnant."

Naruto gasped. And then anger flooded him as he watched the anguish on his father's face. "Yeah, kids suck."

"Is that what you think?" Minato's expression changed to one of anger, as well.

"You certainly don't seem very happy about it," Naruto snapped.

Minato grabbed Naruto by the arm and dragged him to the window. "What don't you get about dead fucking Hokages?" he yelled, spit flying from his mouth. "Dead! Fucking! Hokages!"

Remorse rose unbidden in Naruto at the sincerity of Minato's turmoil. "I'm sorry," he said.

"I should never have…" Minato's voice was bleak. Then he looked at Naruto with a helpless expression. "But she's… I just can't help myself. I can't stop…"

Minato suddenly gripped his shirt, his look wild. "I'll make you Hokage. She and I can go…"

"What?" Naruto interrupted.

"You…you know the job as well as I do." He shook his head then paced in a small circle, rubbing his cheek. "Or maybe Hyuuga or Uchiha. I wonder if the council…"

Naruto stared at his father as he muttered and paced. "You'd do that? Give up Hokage and leave Konoha for m…" He coughed. "For a kid?"

Minato looked at him and dropped his head and gripped his hair. "What am I supposed to do? This job and everything that goes with it is my responsibility. And it's a death sentence; how can I even think about passing it off to someone else? How can I ask another father or mother to…"

He came to stand in front of Naruto and raised his hands in a helpless gesture. "But now _I'm_ going to be a father. What do I do?"

Once again, Naruto was surprised at the words that came from his mouth. "Sarutobi is still alive. Tsunade and Orochimaru and Jiraiya are all old." He shrugged and couldn't look at his father as he lied to him. "You could live to be an old man."

Minato didn't respond and finally Naruto looked up. "How does Kushina feel about this?"

Minato snorted and scrubbed his hands over his hair. "She's ecstatic." He shook his head. "I don't understand it. She's a jinchuuriki. Jinchuuriki have notoriously short lives."

Naruto didn't know what to say. Nothing about this trip had been what he'd expected, including his own responses. He found that, even knowing the future, he had no advice for Minato.


	4. Chapter 4

There was a light tap on the door and Kushina poked her head into the Hokage's office. "Ready?"

Minato smiled and nodded. He got up, came around and pulled her into a hug. He held her tight for several seconds, his eyes squeezed shut. Naruto always had the impression that Minato felt each touch could be their last.

Then Minato looked over at him and said, "Let's go. Social call."

Naruto blinked. They'd made lots of social calls, a Hokage duty, for congratulations and condolences. But he'd always known about them, had in fact scheduled them.

"Kushina's best friend gave birth last night," he said by way of explanation.

"Okay." Naruto blinked again. He hadn't known Kushina had a best friend.

They walked and Naruto was distracted watching the interaction of his parents. They were a beautiful couple. He couldn't get enough of watching his mother. He'd harbored anger at both of his parents for leaving him alone. Now all he felt was yearning. She was such a bright, optimistic person in whom loved flowed like a fountain. And she was so happy about being pregnant. Naruto was coming to understand that she would never abandon her child. His feelings of longing battled for dominance with feelings of heartache. Yes, he'd grown up without parents, but the world had lost a piece of the sun when it lost Uzumaki Kushina.

Just then they made one last turn and Naruto's stomach fell into his shoes. The only family that lived down this road was the Uchihas.

He stopped dead. Someone here had given birth last night? A couple of months before his own birth? Then he felt it. That precious, beloved chakra signature. Sasuke…

"Taisuke! Are you okay?"

Naruto just stared, the edges of his vision swimming. Since he'd been here, he hadn't bumped into anyone he recognized, mostly, he supposed because he was not paying attention to anyone but his parents. But now… _Sasuke_. His beloved bastard had just joined the world. The jumble of thoughts in his head made him sway on his feet.

"Taisuke?" Minato and Kushina had come over to him and she had her hand on his forehead. "Are you sick? You look pale," she said now feeling his cheek.

"Uh…bad lunch," he muttered wondering if he was making any sense.

"Why don't you go back. You don't need…"

"No!" he said, wide-eyed. "No! I need…want…" He took a shaky breath. "I'm okay."

They looked at him doubtfully, but nodded and continued down the road.

There he was. That tiny scrap of flesh on a blanket on the floor was Sasuke. And lying next to him on his side was…Itachi!

Fuck! Blinded by his narrow focus, it had not occurred to him until now, but he'd been in the village this whole time with Uchiha Itachi.

He looked at the older boy lying close to the baby. It was clear to anyone who looked, indeed it permeated the very air, Itachi absolutely worshipped his new brother. He couldn't take his eyes off the baby and gently ran a finger over soft cheeks and downy black hair.

Naruto looked at the baby. Even one day old, his fierce intelligence was evident. His eyes were clear and he seemed to be studying the world around him, already working things out.

"Our babies will be such friends," Uchiha Mikoto said, patting Kushina's belly. "I have such a feeling about them that I'd make a contract for them today."

Kushina laughed as her stomach started moving on its own. "I think baby agrees."

Naruto just moved to stand over the Uchiha boys. He couldn't take his eyes off either one of them. Itachi continued with the gentle contact and Sasuke started to fuss in agitation if he would stop for more than a moment.

Even at their young ages, both boys were so intense. Both had such serious expressions. There was nothing childish about either one of them.

He noticed Itachi was watching him, a suspicious look on his face. Naruto had been staring a long time now.

"Itachi-kun," he started in a quiet voice. "You're happy to have a new brother?"

Itachi stood and bowed respectfully. "Hai. He is…" He never finished, looking a bit confused. Then Sasuke started thrashing his arms and legs. Itachi rushed back to the baby and looked to his mother. "Okasan, may I pick him up?"

"Of course. Remember what we showed you about supporting his head." Sasuke was soon cradled next to Itachi's thin chest, once more calm and content.

Finally Naruto asked to be excused. As he rushed from the room, he heard his mother explaining that he'd eaten some bad sushi. He didn't go back to the tower, opting for the isolation of his rooms. He fell onto his back onto the bed, lying there for the rest of the afternoon, thoughts and emotions that he'd struggled to control fighting for dominance. Through rigid control, he'd managed to put Sasuke out of his mind for the most part since he'd arrived here in the past. Now he couldn't empty his mind of his last moments with Sasuke in the forest outside of Konoha.

He touched his lips remembering his first, and his last, kiss. Tears filled his eyes as he accepted that there would never be anyone else for him, that he had been meant for only Sasuke from his very birth.

He let his imagination take over briefly, imagining what it would have looked like if he'd been able to pursue a relationship with Sasuke. Naruto thought of the new yearnings he'd experienced at the hands of his mother, the yearnings to give and receive. He felt the need to tenderly, ardently mend his friend's damaged heart, to repair deep, lifelong wounds with shimmering threads of love. More than protection of the flesh, Naruto had a vision of racing through life one step in front of Sasuke, clearing obstacles and smoothing the road, giving his friend the freedom to, just maybe, smile. As always, if he could accomplish that one thing, bring one sincere smile, one flicker of peace, of happiness to Sasuke's life, he could have died fulfilled.

But now he also craved touch. His skin felt alive, infused with desires of its own, wanting to reach out, stretch toward contact with the skin of another. He had a fanciful image of his hands coated in and his fingers dripping with love. Contentment filled him as he imagined smearing it on the flesh of a lover, of Sasuke, coating him in an impenetrable layer of devotion.

He closed his eyes and tried to imagine what Sasuke looked like naked. As a well trained ninja, he knew the body would be lean and well muscled. Naruto knew the general mechanics of sex between the various gender pairings and admitted to himself that whether his preference was for males or just Sasuke, his fingers, his mouth, his body yearned for pale flesh, hard muscles and male genitalia.

He licked his lips and wondered what Sasuke tasted like; a summer storm or perhaps the night? He could almost see his fingers rising and falling as he traced the dips and indentations where bone met muscle. He own flesh hardened as he pictured a straining, leaking erection.

Caught in his daydreams, he didn't realize his own hand had been busy between his legs until his orgasm swept through him and he cried out, "Sasuke!"

Grief that he'd held off for months finally overtook him and sobs wracked his frame until he could hardly breathe. He curled in on himself as the memory of their very last moments fighting Akatsuki assailed him.

Naruto had sought out the device pulling on the demon first, feeling the pull getting stronger and stronger until he was barely able to move. He'd destroyed the thing quickly, but by the time he'd joined the fight, Sasuke had already been badly injured and was struggling to fight the entire band alone.

He'd yelled to his friend to get out, but had been ignored. Then the earth seemed to stop spinning as Naruto watched, helpless in his own battle, as Kakuzu used a miniscule window of opportunity and pulled Sasuke's heart right out of his body. There was only a few seconds during which their eyes met and Naruto saw regret flash, and then fade to nothing.

He'd lost his mind at that point, summoning Kyuubi. All he remembered was the first taste of blood in his mouth as he ripped every Akatsuki member to shreds with fangs and claws.

In spite of his dismissal of a notion like hope, he had to finally admit that it had been there, a glimmering chimera…ultimately just out of his reach, but all the more painful because his heart had, in the end, reached anyway.

He'd already been dealing with and dwelling in anger and denial and when the sobs finally started to abate by the next morning, guilt started to gain a head of steam.

Along with the guilt came a need to act, to rectify…something. He'd come here for that very purpose, seeking revenge from his father, but that idea wasn't as satisfying as it had been. His drive to seek justice from someone whom neither he nor Sasuke had ever met didn't seem right anymore.

He lay there in the dawn trying to sort through his thoughts, seeking a path that would match the purpose to which he desperately clung, trying to think of something he could do when suddenly he gasped and shot up out of bed.

Itachi!

Itachi was the seed of all Sasuke's troubles. He frowned as he pictured the boy he'd just met doing what he knew Itachi was going to do in a few years. It didn't feel right and he was having a hard time wrapping his head around it.

He shrugged. A lot could change in a few years. Naruto pursed his lips in thought. He had a unique opportunity here. Maybe he could really do something that would make a difference.

The next few days he couldn't get it off his mind and on the third day he told Minato he had some errands to run at lunch. He went to the Uchiha house and knocked on the door. Mikoto answered and invited him in.

"The Hokage has asked that I check up on you every few days to make sure you are recovering well," he lied.

She laughed and unwittingly helped him out. "I'm sure he is a nervous wreck since Kushina's due date in getting closer."

Naruto smiled awkwardly and nodded. He didn't see the children however and finally blushed and blurted, "I wonder if I might…" He scratched his head. "…look at the baby."

She smiled gently. "Of course." She led them to a covered porch. Itachi was hunched over Sasuke talking to him in a hushed voice.

"Itachi is teaching him the secrets of the Uchihas," she whispered, smiling. "I've never seen such a bond between brothers. We've moved Sasuke to Itachi's room because that's the only place he'll sleep."

They watched for several moments and Naruto caught snips of Itachi's monologue. "…and when you're older, we'll…" "…and then I'll teach you…" "…anyone ever hurts you, I'll…"

Then he noticed Naruto and his mother. He stood and came to her side. A genuine smile crossed his face when she pulled him into a hug and rested her cheek on top of his head.

"Itachi-kun."

"Kaka, daisuki." It was clear to Naruto that he loved his mother. He frowned and kept frowning all the way back to the Hokage's office. He had thought that he would see some glimmer of the mass murderer in the young boy, but it just wasn't there.

Again he shrugged, and admitted that it was some years away and that the boy could change.

He started having flashes of himself drowning the boy in the lake or staging some other accident. It made his stomach churn to think about committing cold blooded murder on a six year old child. But then he'd picture Sasuke's monument, the last Uchiha gone, never to be another and he'd make himself think about it more. If he did nothing, Itachi would murder every Uchiha and turn Sasuke into an avenger whose only goals were the death of his brother and then himself. He'd be doing the world a favor, right?

He waffled back and forth as the thought about it. Sasuke himself had planted doubts in Naruto's mind. Remembering their last meeting, Naruto knew that, for reasons unknown to him, his friend had ultimately decided on life, choosing to travel a different road. And honestly, it wasn't Itachi who had killed him. Naruto had to admit that he had more to do with Sasuke's death than Itachi did.

Still, if he could prevent all those other deaths…

Trying to find some resolve, he went back to the Uchiha's every couple of days as promised. While he was there, he watched Itachi. Looking for some portent, some harbinger, he tried engaging the boy in conversation.

"How are you doing at the academy?"

"It is hard work, but satisfying." He didn't sound much like a child.

"I hear you're the top of the entire school." Itachi blushed and ducked his head, saying nothing.

"I understand your father is the proudest parent in all of Konoha," Naruto prompted.

Itachi's head shot up, a look of wonder on his face. "You heard that?"

"Yes," Naruto continued, having expected arrogance and indifference as Itachi's response.

"I…" he floundered. "I am glad," he finally said, looking like he might cry.

Naruto was growing more confused and more uncertain the more he engaged the young Uchiha. He actually liked Itachi, in no small part because the boy worshipped Sasuke.

One night he was lying in bed trying unenthusiastically to think of a way to accomplish Itachi's death when something the toads said came back to him.

"…_we would like to warn you about changing pasts that don't belong to you. There are some pasts that can't be changed. You might be able to change some details of an outcome, but the final outcome remains unchanged… …you will be tempted to stop certain events but if you don't understand what truly caused them, if you don't get at the absolute root of the events, you won't change them."_

It hadn't meant anything to him at the time, but something about it clicked now. It had occurred to him that, at face value, Itachi murdering his entire clan made no sense. That in itself told Naruto that there was more to the story and explained why he was having so many doubts.

Like pieces of a puzzle clicking into place, a picture started to form. Maybe it was his time in the Hokage's employ, seeing first hand plots, plans, machinations and ugly ambition, but a word entered Naruto's mind; conspiracy.

Uchihas were powerful. There were other groups of power in Konoha; Nara, Hyuuga, Sarutobi. He'd seen his father try to navigate the turbulent, complicated waters of these warring factions, trying to keep peace through diplomacy and occasionally veiled threats.

He'd had a sense at times that there was a tenuous leash on some of Konoha's elite and the slightest shift in vigilance on Minato's part would cause them to break free. He envisioned that the rabid creatures that lurked under a shiny, paper-thin surface were just waiting for certain conditions under which they would be free to reshape the future.

Perhaps Itachi wasn't the one who ultimately wanted the Uchihas dead. Perhaps he was a tool, a pawn.

Ice formed in his stomach and he knew; killing Itachi wouldn't change things. The Uchihas were doomed. Through the lens of this new perspective, he came to suspect that the only reason Sasuke survived the massacre was because it was Itachi. Another assassin would not have spared the seven year old.

He briefly thought about trying to figure out what really happened that day, but quickly discarded the idea. It was impossible to investigate a crime that hadn't happened yet, and possibly hadn't even hatched in anyone's brain at this point in history.

Naruto had only felt this helpless one other time; watching Sasuke sacrifice his life on his behalf. Partially relieved and partially bereft, he went back to the Uchiha's once more, asking to see the children.

He knelt by Sasuke and touched his cheek, his heart bleeding, knowing that this would be the last time he ever saw his friend.

"Goodbye, bastard."

"You called my brother a bastard?"

Naruto flushed. "Uh, yeah. Sorry." Before he could think up a good excuse Itachi spoke again.

"Do you like all babies as much as you like my brother?"

Naruto scratched his head. "I guess not. This one is pretty special."

Itachi nodded in agreement. Naruto turned to him and sat up on his knees, now at eye level with him. "You are a good brother, Itachi," Naruto said quietly. "I've never seen such a good brother."

Itachi seemed surprised and stuttered, "Than…thank you."

Naruto pushed the Itachi's hair back off his cheek, then, overcome with grief for himself, for the condemned Uchiha's, for Sasuke, for Itachi, he impulsively pulled the boy into a hug. "Itachi…" he sighed. He couldn't think of anything else to say and after a moment, got up in a rush and left, never to return.


	5. Chapter 5

You can thank Naomi13 for any coherence here. She is an amazing beta! (Yay! I have a beta!)

* * *

"But…" Naruto sputtered.

"No. It's enough that we even told you the plan. You don't need to be present at the birth." Minato shook his head. "I can't understand why you'd even want to be."

Naruto was panicked. No, he didn't have this huge desire to watch childbirth, but he knew that day was _the_ day. He had to see what happened. "It's just…I…someone…in case something happens…someone should know…"

Minato just frowned at him. "Do you know something?"

Naruto flushed, knowing he wasn't a good liar. Breaking eye contact, he said, "No. It's just that so much could go wrong."

That was the absolute truth. Minato and the elders had not excluded him from the most of the plans surrounding all the precautions they were putting in place. He knew that Kushina's seal would be at its weakest at the moment of his birth and that the slightest interruption in Minato's concentration would spell disaster.

Minato's jaw clenched. "Nothing, absolutely _nothing_ is going to happen." He grabbed Naruto's sleeve. "Do you hear me? Kushina and my son, my family…" He swallowed, threw Naruto's sleeve out of his grasp and stormed back to his desk.

It had come full circle. Naruto didn't know the details of what was going to happen, but his heart had been shredding as he watched his parents. His mother was blissfully happy with her growing family. She was so confident in your immense stores of power and rock solid determination to protect her family that her happiness never wavered.

And his father… Minato knew doom was hanging over them, a black cloud swollen with the potential for tragedy. Naruto found him pouring over old scrolls, trying to fill his arsenal with the weapons to fight any eventuality. Naruto had gotten enough glimpses to know that Minato had been delving into some scary stuff.

Naruto had wanted revenge, wanted justice from the people who had ruined his life. Now all he felt was agonizing guilt. Indeed, he felt as though it was he who had ruined these two lives. Minato and Kushina, priceless members of their larger family, their community, two people who had reached out to each other, giving and receiving happiness, risked their very lives to give him a life.

And he'd squandered it. He saw that now. Saw hands reaching toward him; Sakura, Iruka, Hinata. He'd turned from them. He saw himself, his eyes turned inward, looking into the dark, the past, never looking up at the sun, out toward bonds that could enrich more lives than just his own. Living in darkness…

Sasuke… They were the same, he and his bastard. But Sasuke had apparently grown, had taken that step out of the shadows of the past, into a today filled with sunshine, glittering with possibilities and an unwritten future. _Time_…

Kushina carried the demon as he had, but she never let that stand in the way of living her life to the fullest. The birth of her life as a demon vessel had, like all vessels, been bathed in death and carnage. And the residents of Konoha had welcomed her new status much as it had welcomed Naruto's; not well. Still Kushina lived her life to the fullest, determined not to try to predict the future, grabbing for Minato and a family with both hands.

Minato had been a tougher nut to crack, but Kushina was a force of nature and against the pull of her love, he'd ultimately been powerless.

It all made Naruto feel small and immature. He realized that relationships were multisided. If she had let fear and pessimism be her masters, Minato would not have had this last year of his own happiness. Naruto thought of Iruka, Sakura, Tsunade and wondered if he could have enriched others' lives by reaching out and touching them instead of thinking only of himself.

They had done it, all of them. Taken their grief and loss and used it to appreciate rather than fear. They were all going to die. Now standing here, seventeen years in his past, the notion of when seemed less important than the now. _Time_…

He had also come to realize that the picture in his head had been wrong. He had let his own troubles color his imagination, and placed himself in the role of victim. He assumed everything that happened this day had been a clear-headed set of decisions, with the good of the village easily trumping the good of one small boy.

Now he saw that the events marched along in spite of Minato and Kushina fighting the outcome to their very deaths.

He realized how he could honor his friend's memory and his parents' sacrifices, by taking their examples and living his life to the fullest, connected to the rest of humanity.

* * *

The day finally arrived just as the last leaves carpeted the earth in a crisp palette of browns, reds and yellows.

Minato had held his ground about Naruto's presence at the birth. If something happened, Minato argued, he didn't want to have to decide which precious person to save.

So Naruto had been waiting at his parents' home pacing, frantically trying to think of some way to find the cave where they were. In that way, this body he'd borrowed had been useless. He'd give just about anything for even a fraction of his sage abilities.

He was sitting lotus style, his palms over his stomach, striving unsuccessfully to generate enough chakra to find his parents when Minato appeared with a loud pop.

"Taisuke!" Minato rushed to Naruto and handed him a baby, naked and still slippery with afterbirth. "Hold him!"

"What?"

"Kyuubi…" Minato stepped back ready to leave. "I'm counting on you to keep my son safe. No matter what happens."

"But I…"

"Taisuke," Minato interrupted. "This is the most important…" His armor fell away for a scant few seconds during which Naruto saw is profound agony.

Minato stepped forward once again and reached out a finger to touch a downy, bewhiskered cheek. He leaned over and pressed his lips to a fist wrapped around his finger. "I love you, Naruto."

Naruto gasped to an empty room. "_I love you, Naruto…" "I love you…" "I love you?"_ His father had said, "I love you."

A large space inside him, one he hadn't known he had, filled to the brim. And he suddenly knew why he had come back to the past. Someone loved him, loved him enough to die for him. That one declaration could, he knew, sustain him through however his life unfolded.

He was scared now, more afraid than he'd ever been. Initially he'd come here to change or eliminate his own past. Here now, alone in this room, holding himself, a singular opportunity presented itself. It would be so easy…

Then he had an image of his parents' monuments. "Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina, two of the world's finest shinobi. Noble, courageous, loving, they died for…._nothing!_

He couldn't do it. As he heard screams floating through the windows, he once again felt helpless, hopeless.

Just then another loud pop signaled an arrival. He turned and found Minato holding a shuddering, sweating Kushina.

"My baby. My son." She reached toward Naruto. "Give him to me."

Minato laid her on a pallet and Naruto gave the baby to her. Even though she was weak and in obvious pain, she muttered soothing syllables and bared a breast for baby's first feeding.

"I have to get back right away. I'm counting on you, Taisuke." He grabbed a kunai hanging on the wall and was gone that fast.

Naruto knelt by his mother. Kyuubi wasn't entirely gone from her. He could feel a mixture of her chakra and the demon's stretching beyond the walls of their home. She was still trying to contain the demon and mother her new baby at the same time. He wondered if this was the end. She was fading more as the minutes ticked by. Was he going to watch her die right here?

"Can I…" Naruto whispered. "Can I hold you?"

She blinked up at him in surprise. Then she smiled and touched his cheek with her free hand. "Of course, it would comfort me greatly." He knew she was doing this for him, but scooped her into his arms and held her and the baby to his chest. He stroked her hair and listened to the cacophony coming from outside. He'd been holding her for a short while when one last pop signaled Minato's arrival one final time.

"Kushina, I need you. I need both of you." Minato squatted and touched her cheek.

She nodded. "I can help you, but let's leave Naruto…"

"No. We need him, too." Minato couldn't make eye contact with her. "I… He touched the baby's lips where they were latched onto a swollen breast. "I will protect you, Naruto. Always. From beyond the grave."

"Minato! No!" Kushina struggled to sit up.

"Tell me," he interrupted. "The truth. Was it a terrible life?"

"You mean the demon?" He nodded.

She frowned and then her face fell. "No. He is an arrogant pest, but he was no trouble."

Naruto realized the truth of those words. Kyuubi had not impacted him directly. In fact, the demon had probably given him advantages and protection. It was the reactions of others and his responses that had caused him grief.

Minato picked her and the baby up and Naruto panicked. He had to see this through. Just as Minato was beginning to shimmer out of existence, Naruto grabbed his cloak. It worked; seconds later, all four were standing in the shadow of the nine-tails demon.

"Taisuke! I told you…" Minato paused then sighed. "Get over there with Sarutobi. Stay with him." The blond Hokage laid Kushina on the ground and turned to grip Naruto's shoulders before he could leave. "Watch. Listen. Make a record so my son understands…understands that we love him."

Naruto nodded and his eyes burned. "Goodbye. I…I love you."

Minato raised an eyebrow and his lip twitched. "I love you, too, Taisuke. I'd like to think my boy will grow up to be a fine young man like you." Then he turned Naruto around and sent him off with a gentle shove.

Just as he reached the Third Hokage's side, a red haze surrounded the little family facing off with the fiery fox demon.

The barrier swelled with a giant tsunami of chakra. It was Kushina! As she knelt shivering on the rocky soil, chains of pure, potent chakra extended from her body to wrap around the defiant demon.

"Minato," Kushina said. "Make sure Naruto knows I love him."

He knelt and cupped her face. "What?"

"I'll drag him back into my body and take him with me to the grave." She coughed a spray of blood onto the sandy ground under her palms.

"No, not like that. There has to be balance in the spirit world or mankind won't survive. We can use our last bit of chakra to make sure we see Naruto again." He pushed her hair back off her forehead. "We can protect him from beyond the grave."

"Who will take care of him? Who will love our little baby?"

"He will be a hero. Everyone in Konoha will love him," Minato said. "I can use the eight trigrams seal to put your remaining chakra in him. And we can reseal the demon. We'll put half of him into Naruto and I'll take half with me into the dead demon realm. I should be able to put my remaining chakra into him as well."

"We'll still be a family?" She was shuddering and sweating and blood dribbled from the corners of her mouth. She didn't have much time left.

"Yes. Did I tell you?" He smiled sadly at her. "Our son is the child of prophesy. This is the right thing to do." His smile faltered. "I'm sure of it."

"I'll be damned," the Third Hokage murmured. "The Dead Demon Seal."

Naruto's arms fell limp, numb at his side at the sight before him. Floating in a ghostly shimmer was the most horrifying being he'd ever seen. The very air smelled, sounded, tasted like death. A horrible, soul sucking oppression descended over the occupants of the clearing.

As a small rock pedestal appeared from nowhere, the demon railed, tossing its head back and forth. Minato placed his sleeping son on it. "Seal!" Minato yelled to the skies.

"No!" Kyuubi growled as the dead demon shot a bony arm through Minato's chest to the fox demon, grabbing and holding him in place. "You will not place me in that…in _any_ human again."

Defiant to the end, the demon raised his arm to swipe at baby Naruto. Both parents moved and seconds later were hunched over their son, both impaled by a bloody claw.

They were at the end now. Blood poured from gaping wounds and his parents sagged, held in place by a fiery claw. Naruto, tears running in rivers down his cheeks, watched as they gazed lovingly at their son. Then Minato raised his hands and performed one last seal.

And then it was over. The demon had been split, pulled kicking and screaming into two new hosts, the dead demon and baby Naruto. Minato and Kushina lay side by side wrapped in each others' arms, their spirits departed to another kingdom. Their son slept on in peaceful oblivion.

Later, Naruto sat in his rooms, listening to the dissonance of sounds coming in his window from the streets. The sounds of mourners singing bittersweet songs for their dead and for their fallen leader contrasted with the cheering and celebrating over the demon's failure.

He should go back. He'd learned what he needed to know. He hadn't sorted it all out in his head and heart yet, but he would in time. _Time_…

Half his brain idly stepped through the seals to return home. Location component; check. Chakra binding component; check. Matter splitting component; check. Time component… _Time_… _Time_…

Naruto shot up out of his chair. What had the toads said? _"The length of time depends on your manipulation of the time component. You could conceivably leave, spend years in the past and because you chose it, return here after the passage of only moments…or indeed, before you even left."_

Could he? Was it truly possible? And if he did this, how did he decide when? There was much he could try to change. Could he accomplish it? Should he?

He paced and thought all night long. Finally as the sun crested his window sill, he smiled; he'd made his decision. He had no idea if the cosmos would approve of his tampering, but he didn't care. He had an opportunity to, like his mother and father, reach out and take life with both fists. He wasn't about to let something like the natural order of the universe stand in his way.

Content with his decision and more at peace than he'd ever been in his life, he crouched into a lotus position and started the long process that would take him home.


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you always this cheerful before battle?" Kakashi leaned on the tree trunk next to Naruto who was almost bouncing up and down with his excitement.

"I just have a good feeling," Naruto grinned. He had his precious people near him. They numbered more than he dreamed when he sat in Taisuke's room one year ago.

Naruto knew that Sasuke was part of his future, but before he could embrace that he needed a home. He needed to build bonds, strong bonds, and a rock solid foundation. He needed to set an example for his bastard to follow, to show him that there was more to home and family than blood. He needed to show Sasuke what he had learned, that life is to be lived.

So Naruto had chosen to come back at the end of his training with Jiraiya at the age of sixteen. He'd thought about trying to come back in time to stop Sasuke from leaving, but one thing he'd learned was that he couldn't live Sasuke's life. Since he couldn't stop the massacre, he decided to let the part after that play out, to let Sasuke grieve in his own way and, ultimately, save himself. He instinctively knew that was the only path to Sasuke ever being whole again.

"Is everyone in place?" Naruto asked for the tenth time, even though he already knew the answer.

"Yes." Kakashi shook his head in bemusement. "You're certain that…" He was interrupted by the snapping of a twig overhead. He gasped as Uchiha Sasuke dropped from the trees landing before them.

"You didn't come alone," Sasuke said.

"Naw," Naruto said, grinning like an idiot. "A little birdie told me there was going to be a party…" He shrugged. "If I didn't invite these guys..." He shrugged again, still grinning.

Sasuke just stared several moments then he nodded. "Okay." He nodded again. "Good. Akatsuki isn't far behind me." Whoops of excitement could be heard from several branches overhead. "They've come to collect the demon."

He glanced around and Naruto could feel his chakra reaching out trying to figure out who was here. "I came to try…to protect you," Sasuke added lamely.

Naruto nodded, his grin widening even more. "I promised these guys a good fight." He reached into his weapons pouch and held his hand out to Sasuke. In it was the Uchiha's scratched and frayed Leaf forehead protector.

Naruto nudged his hand forward. "Whaddya say? The cloud bastards should be some decent practice."

Sasuke just stared at the item in Naruto's hand for several moments. Then he smirked, snatched it out of Naruto's hand and tied it around his head.

Minutes later, Akatsuki appeared out of the mist. The fight didn't last long; they were taken by surprise, not expecting to be met by Leaf's finest. The sun was poking through the clouds when Sasuke stepped over the body of Hidan and walked over to Naruto.

Naruto watched his lips twitch as they heard Kakashi yell to Gai, "That's one for me!"

Gai threw his arm in the air, the one stray ray of sunshine dazzling as it found its way to his abundance of teeth. "We are even my friend. One for me, as well."

A snort of laughter did escape Sasuke when he saw their crushed pride as Sakura flipped through the air and landed between them saying in a saucy voice, "Well, too bad boys, that makes two for me."

Naruto stepped into Sasuke's personal space and met his eyes.

"Welcome home, bastard."

* * *

TWO YEARS LATER…

"Oh my Gods! They are naked again!" Naruto looked over Sasuke's shoulder to see Lee slap his hand over Sakura's eyes.

"Maybe we wouldn't be if you learned to knock," Sasuke said from his position straddling Naruto's lap.

"The door was open," Lee defended, standing just inside the Hokage's office.

"Oh, yeah? Well, where's my guard?" Naruto asked, his eyes twinkling. He draped Sasuke's gi top around them, effectively covering them from view.

"He appears to be in your lap, attached to your dick," Sakura spat, shoving Lee's hand off her face. She put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot in agitation.

"Oh, was it your shift?" Naruto asked rubbing his hands up and down Sasuke's back. Sasuke smirked and nodded.

"Seriously," Sakura continued, "I hope nothing bad ever happens in this village. You two will be the last to know."

That was completely untrue. Naruto's sage abilities let him know everything going on in and around Konoha. He had actually known Lee and Sakura were on their way, the first guests to the party, but hadn't expected the pair to just waltz into his office.

"You need to shut the door from now on," he said around the earlobe between his teeth.

"Well, then you need to quit yanking me in here by my obi. When was I supposed to shut it?" Then Sasuke added, "I agree this is a problem and I think the solution is to just move my post to right here on your lap."

Naruto grinned. "Can we make this your official uniform, too?" he asked pulling the gi top wide, looking at the body beneath.

"Naruto!" Sakura persisted. "The babies are right there."

Naruto shrugged. "They're two weeks old."

"Mine's older," Sasuke sniffed.

Naruto grinned. "Mine has more chakra."

Sasuke opened then closed his mouth, this round clearly going to Naruto.

"Your party starts in five minutes. You need to get up and get dressed," Sakura snapped. She grabbed Lee by the sleeve pulling him toward the door and added in an ominous tone, "Five minutes!"

Sakura was really getting annoyed standing in the hallway outside Naruto's office. It was well over five minutes and she was just about ready to…. Her thoughts were derailed when she heard Naruto's voice from the other side of the door, "Ah, ah. Harder, Sasuke. Harder!"

Growling, she shoved the door open, only to find Naruto and Sasuke, each completely dressed and holding a baby. Naruto was snickering.

"You're more trouble than you're worth," she sniffed, gently ebony colored hair on the tiny scalp in Naruto's arms.

"Naw," Naruto grinned. "You know you love us."

She put her hand on his cheek. "You're lucky that's true."

He covered her hand with his own and his smile gentled. "Yeah, I am."

Later, after everyone had left, Naruto knelt by the two babies, wrapping them up for the trip home. Sasuke scooted behind him and wrapped his arms around the broad torso.

"I think this time I want to try for two surrogates. I'm not rebuilding this clan one Uchiha at a time." He rested his chin on Naruto's shoulder. "You'll need another one, too. Think we can handle three babies at a time?"

Naruto looked at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye. "These two will be walking."

Sasuke lifted his head and tossed his hair. "Mine will be running."

"Mine'll still have more chakra."

Sasuke snapped his teeth together, this round also clearly going to Naruto. As he tried to think of a retort, Naruto said, "We'll need help."

"And we'll have it." He nuzzled Naruto's cheek and reached out to touch a tiny foot. "This village adores you. A half a dozen fist fights nearly broke out tonight as everyone fought over holding the babies."

Naruto snickered. "Uncle Kakashi…"

Sasuke laughed knowing the incident to which Naruto referred. Not long before the party was over, Kakashi navigated the room retrieving both babies, plucking them right out of the arms of his disgruntled, sputtering peers. Then he sat in the rocker that Tsunade had brought as a gift and informed everyone that _he_ would be rocking them to sleep.

No one in the room was quite man enough to challenge this, although Sasuke could tell that Iruka was close.

Naruto looked up at the painting on the wall of his father and smiled in pure contentment. He, too, stroked a tiny foot near his knee. By having the babies, he was making a contract with the future, however long that was. He was agreeing to savor his precious people and cherish each new dawn.

Thank you, Mom and Dad for this precious gift.


End file.
